On Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008, I distinctly remember my mother waking me up, hurrying me over to the television, pointing to the news, and saying, “this is your new president. Although you don’t understand it now, he just made history.”

Marquees glow at night with "We Hope to See You Soon!" messages, and sidewalks that were formerly cluttered with lines stretching down the street remain empty. Los Angeles' live music venues are at the heart of the city's culture and entertainment, and for the first time, seats are empty.

On a Sunday evening, typically a slow business day for the movies, the Regency Theaters Drive-In, also known as The Plant, had a half-full parking lot of cars. Couples and families settled in as the lights dimmed. The screen came to life with 20th Century Studios’ newest movie, “The New Mutants.”

The street performers of Santa Monica speak out about how they are dealing with challenging times during the COVID-19 pandemic, while trying to safely entertain the people of Santa Monica.

In late March, Suzie Crocker, a woman who works with Hope United LA, received a large food donation from Whole Foods. Unsure of what to do with it, she reached out to Cheryl Byrne, a neighbor of the church and a strong figure in the community. Byrne is now one of the co-founders of Feeding Families Santa Monica. She knew that she had to find people who she could help.

If committing to college was not hard enough already, the wake of COVID-19 has many students second-guessing whether or not to attend a four-year university.

Colleges across the nation are devising plans to create more equitable environments for their students and staff - including Santa Monica College (SMC). SMC’s 2019-2020 Equity Plan states that “Santa Monica College continues to see pervasive data across every student success indicator demonstrating that the College is not effectively serving Latinx and African American students specifically.”

*On July 6th, 2020, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that students on F-1 visas must leave the country if their school began offering online education only. This directive put students and institutions in a precarious situation, and even though it was eventually walked back on, they are still dealing with the consequences.*

Coastal Cleanup Month is a worldwide movement that started over 30 years ago and has gathered the support of over 6 million volunteers, according to Surfrider Foundation and Ocean Conservancy, two environmental nonprofits. The movement has been picked up nationwide and worldwide, including in our own coastal community of Santa Monica.

In a unique situation, Head Coach Brian Eskridge has taken control of Santa Monica College (SMC) men’s and women’s water polo teams. He is a veteran water polo coach, starting with SMC in 2009, more than fit to take on the challenges that come with coaching both teams.

After a solid win over the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs’ Western Conference Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers won an emotional Game 2 that was capped off with an Anthony Davis three-point buzzer beater shot with 1.7 seconds left on the clock.

The Corsair: Issue 2 (Fall 2020)

Santa Monica College (SMC) announced it will continue conducting all classes, support services, and activities online for the Winter and Spring 2021 semesters as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement came via email from SMC president Dr. Kathryn Jeffery today, Sept. 21, to all students and faculty.

At the age of 50, playing a physically demanding sport such as football isn’t the most ideal thing you’ll see. For 50-year-old Santa Monica College (SMC) football player R.C. Everbeck, he is the rare exception.

Turhan Douglas, head coach of the Santa Monica College Women’s Volleyball team, is a decorated champion who holds an impressive trophy cabinet that he has earned throughout his volleyball career, both as player and coach.

On Saturday September 5, 2020 The World Stage and Just Jazz presented, "Jazz Musicians United Against Racism," the second performance in an ongoing series which is live streamed in real-time. The event took place at the iconic World Stage venue in Leimert Park, South Los Angeles and was streamed via Facebook Live to over 1,000 viewers.

The actor Chadwick Boseman died on August 29 at his home in Los Angeles. His wife posted on his Instagram saying that he had been diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2016, which he had been fighting for four years. He never spoke about his cancer diagnosis to the public.

Santa Monica College (SMC) kicks off the semester with a program geared to educate students and shift the culture and conversation around sexual violence.

SMC will begin the second year of its Title IX Leadership Program for Students this coming Thursday, Sept. 10. The free series of workshops are designed to raise awareness and promote student empowerment, particularly in the areas of sexual harassment and sexual assault.

Once exiled from Main Street, the food trucks are now slowly returning. The food trucks are mandated to follow health measures such as requiring social distancing, only serving people with masks, and providing hand sanitizer.

During an ongoing quarantine caused by a global pandemic that has taken the lives of roughly 190,000 Americans, and a record-breaking heatwave, people flocked to Santa Monica State Beach to celebrate Labor Day over the weekend.

A sea of umbrellas spanned across the beach. California’s COVID-19 positive case rates, hospitalizations, and deaths have been slowly declining, but local officials worried that gatherings over Labor Day weekend may cause a spike in cases, threatening the progress made.